For some at Westminster, the dramatic events in Basra on Monday werea sure sign that Iraq is sliding towards civil war. For other, moresanguine voices, it was no worse than a busy night in Belfast.According to Mohammad al-Waili, the governor of Basra province, theBritish army mounted a `barbaric, savage and irresponsible` raid ona police station. On the contrary, said Brigadier John Lorimer,commander of British troops in the region, Iraqi police had floutedthe law in an `unacceptable` fashion, and two captured soldiersneeded to be rescued.

What was clear last night was that the trust between the Britisharmy and Iraqi police - whom the British helped to train - haslargely broken down. Many of the 7,000 Iraqi police in Basra are nowsaid to owe allegiance not to the state, but to the mosque.According to some estimates, at least half will take orders fromMoqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shia cleric. Earlier this year, StevenVincent, a journalist working for the New York Times, reported thatBritish authorities were reluctant to interfere in the militias`growing influence on the police. Shortly after his report waspublished, Mr Vincent was abducted by militiamen and shot dead.

On Sunday, the softly softly British approach appeared to come to anabrupt end when troops detained three leaders of the Mahdi army, themilitia loyal to Mr Sadr. Among those held for questioning aboutbomb attacks was its local leader, Sheikh Ahmad Majid al-Fartusi.The arrests sparked demonstrations by around 200 supporters whoblocked city centre streets, brandishing rifles.

During the next 36 hours, events moved quickly. First, on Mondayafternoon, two undercover British soldiers, members of a specialforces unit, were ordered to stop at an Iraqi police roadblock onthe outskirts of the city. According to local reports, the men weredriving fast in a civilian car. Each was wearing civilian clothesand Arabic headdress and, on being challenged, one opened fire onthe officers, killing one and wounding a second.

John Reid, the defence secretary, said yesterday that the soldiershad been `doing their job`.`They were building up a picture and[getting] information to protect our soldiers and their operations.`

The pair were overwhelmed and taken initially to Jamiat policestation in the city centre, where Arab journalists were allowed totake their photographs. Meanwhile, a crowd of men and youthsgathered outside the police station, and began hurling rocks andpetrol bombs at four British Warriors outside the building.

According to Iraqi reports, three demonstrators were killed and 15injured. Television viewers around the world saw the moment that thegunner in one Warrior had to leap for his life as he and vehiclebecame engulfed by flames. Two others, members of the ColdstreamGuards battle group, were also hurt. None of the injuries is thoughtto be life threatening.

At around this time, in the south-west of the city, a second NewYork Times journalist was being murdered. Fakher Haidar al-Tamimi,38, who had also worked for the Guardian, had written an article forthe Times in which he criticised the British authorities`laissez-faire attitude. According to neighbours, one of the vehiclesdriven by the men who abducted him from his home was a police car.

On Monday afternoon the Ministry of Defence said British forces werenegotiating for the release of the two soldiers. Under Iraqi law,the pair should have been handed over to the coalition forces. Atone point, the Iraqi interior minister, Bayan Jabr, is understood tohave demanded their release, but the police refused.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, the `negotiations` resultedin a Warrior punching a large hole in the police station`s perimeterwall and demolishing a couple of prefabricated buildings inside. AnMoD spokesman suggested that this `might` have been an accident. `Wewould never orchestrate or authorise a jail break,` he insisted.During the melee, several dozen prisoners are reported to haveescaped, although the MoD denies this.

Brigadier Lorimer said he had taken `the difficult decision to orderentry` into the police station after his men discovered theircaptured comrades were no longer inside. The police admitted theyhad handed the two men to the Mahdi army.

One Iraqi member of parliament said yesterday that the Mahdi armyhad been hoping to keep the two men as hostages who could beexchanged for their arrested leaders. A helicopter is thought tohave seen a car being driven from the police station, however, andthe two soldiers were later rescued from a nearby house.

Yesterday police complained the British had behaved like`terrorists`. `A tank cannon struck a room where a policeman waspraying,` said one officer, Abbas Hassan. `This is terrorism. All wehad was rifles.`

Brigadier Lorimer preferred to describe it as `a difficult day`. Headded: `We have put this behind us and will move on`.